Inbound call routing in an integrated voice and video platform

ABSTRACT

Voice and video features of a software platform are integrated to enable customization of software services of the software platform on a customer-basis. Routing rules are defined to route calls to certain phone numbers or extensions to certain software services. Thereafter, when a call is received via a telephony system associated with the software platform, a routing rule customized for the software platform is identified based on information signaled with the call, such as a phone number or extension dialed to place the call. A software service is determined based on the routing rule, and the phone is connected with the software system that provides the software service.

BACKGROUND

Enterprise entities rely upon several modes of communication to supporttheir operations, including telephone, email, internal messaging, andthe like. These separate modes of communication have historically beenimplemented by service providers whose services are not integrated withone another. The disconnect between these services, in at least somecases, requires information to be manually passed by users from oneservice to the next. Furthermore, some services, such as telephonyservices, are traditionally delivered via on-premises solutions, meaningthat remote workers and those who are generally increasingly mobile maybe unable to rely upon them. One solution is by way of a unifiedcommunications as a service (UCaaS) platform, which includes severalcommunications services integrated over a network, such as the Internet,to deliver a complete communication experience regardless of physicallocation.

SUMMARY

Disclosed herein are, inter alia, implementations of systems andtechniques for inbound call routing in an integrated voice and videoplatform.

One aspect of this disclosure is a system, which includes a data store,a first server, and a second server. The data store stores routing rulescustomized for a software platform. The first server includes a routingengine and a private branch exchange, in which the routing engine routesa call from a phone to a software service of the software platform viathe private branch exchange according to a routing rule of the routingrules. The second server provides the software service.

Another aspect of this disclosure is a method, which includes receivinga call from a phone via a telephony system associated with a softwareplatform. A routing rule customized for the software platform isidentified based on information signaled with the call. A softwareservice of the software platform is determined based on the routingrule. The phone is then connected with a software system that providesthe software service.

Yet another aspect of this disclosure is a system, which includes atelephony server and a meeting server. The telephony server routes acall received from a phone registered with a software platform to avirtual meeting according to a routing rule customized for a customer ofthe software platform. The meeting server runs virtual meeting softwareto implement the virtual meeting.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

This disclosure is best understood from the following detaileddescription when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Itis emphasized that, according to common practice, the various featuresof the drawings are not to-scale. On the contrary, the dimensions of thevarious features are arbitrarily expanded or reduced for clarity.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunications system.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example internal configuration of acomputing device of an electronic computing and communications system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a software platformimplemented by an electronic computing and communications system.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of servers used to integratevoice and video features of a software platform.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a telephony system and ameeting system of a software platform.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of example functionality of a routing engineused by a telephony system of a software platform.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of an example of a technique for routing a call toa software service in an integrated voice and video platform.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Conventional UCaaS platforms implement a range of communication andcollaboration tools, including, for example, telephony services andconferencing services. UCaaS platforms are typically implemented usingmulti-tenant architecture in which infrastructure and softwareinstantiations are shared between platform users. While the typicalUCaaS platform architecture allows users to access the same services, itdoes not enable customization on the basis of specific users. Forexample, call-in numbers for multi-tenant conferencing services aretypically shared across all users of a conventional UCaaS platformbecause a conventional UCaaS platform does not allow individual users tocustomize such call-in numbers. Furthermore, given this inflexibility onthe part of conventional UCaaS platforms to allow customizations forindividual users, there is no mechanism by which to route calls tocertain phone numbers or extensions, for example, local or toll freephone numbers or extensions, to software services of such a UCaaSplatform.

Implementations of this disclosure address problems such as these byintegrating voice and video features of a software platform, which may,for example, be a UCaaS platform. Routing rules are defined to routecalls to certain phone numbers or extensions to certain softwareservices. Thereafter, when a call is received via a telephony systemassociated with the software platform, a routing rule customized for thesoftware platform is identified based on information signaled with thecall, such as a phone number or extension dialed to place the call. Asoftware service is determined based on the routing rule, and the phoneis connected with the software system that provides the softwareservice. As such, the routing rules disclosed herein may be generatedand used on a customer-basis to customize aspects of a multi-tenantsoftware platform for individual customers thereof.

The implementations of this disclosure thus allow for numerouscustomization approaches for integrating telephony services of asoftware platform with software services of that software platform. Inone example, a routing rule may be defined to route calls to a phonenumber assigned to a customer of the software platform, such as a localor toll free number anywhere within a service area of the softwareplatform, to an interactive voice response (IVR) system. The IVR systemmay be customized for the customer using certain prompts. A response toa prompt can be routed to either a specific virtual meeting. In somecases, the caller may be prompted to enter a meeting identifierassociated with that virtual meeting, such as before being connectedthereto. In some cases, the IVR system may be facilitated using an autoattendant of the software platform.

In another example, a routing rule may be defined to route calls to aphone extension, such as a local extension for phones registered to thesoftware platform for a customer thereof, to a specific virtual meeting.The phone number or extension may be a simple number called from a phonedialer or hotkey which seamlessly connects the caller to the virtualmeeting. In some cases, the caller may be prompted to enter a meetingidentifier associated with that virtual meeting, such as before beingconnected thereto. In this way, a customer of the software platform canconfigure virtual meetings to allow callers to participate therein usinga phone number local to an office of the customer or using a main phonenumber for the customer.

In yet another example, a universal meeting identifier may be createdfor a universal meeting, which may be a virtual meeting that isgenerally accessible to an entire corps of the customer or a subsetthereof. The universal meeting may, for example, be an emergency bridgeline. A routing rule may be defined to route calls to a phone number orextension to the universal meeting in which the callers areautomatically authenticated based on the universal meeting identifierbeing associated with that phone number or extension.

In still a further example, a universal identifier may be created for asoftware service other than a virtual meeting which is generallyaccessible to the entire customer corps or a subset thereof. Forexample, a routing rule may be defined to route calls to a phone numberor extension to an emergency service (e.g., an E911 service) based onthe universal identifier being associated with that phone number orextension. In another example, a routing rule may be defined to routecalls to a phone number or extension to another software service of thesoftware platform based on the universal identifier being associatedwith that phone number or extension.

To describe some implementations in greater detail, reference is firstmade to examples of hardware and software structures used to implementinbound call routing in an integrated voice and video platform. FIG. 1is a block diagram of an example of an electronic computing andcommunications system 100, which can be or include a distributedcomputing system (e.g., a client-server computing system), a cloudcomputing system, a clustered computing system, or the like. The system100 includes one or more customers, such as customers 102A through 102B,which may each be a public entity, private entity, or another corporateentity or individual that purchases or otherwise uses software services,such as of a UCaaS platform provider. Each customer can include one ormore clients. For example, as shown and without limitation, the customer102A can include clients 104A through 104B, and the customer 102B caninclude clients 104C through 104D. A customer can include a customernetwork or domain. For example, and without limitation, the clients 104Athrough 104B can be associated or communicate with a customer network ordomain for the customer 102A and the clients 104C through 104D can beassociated or communicate with a customer network or domain for thecustomer 102B.

A client, such as one of the clients 104A through 104D, may be orotherwise refer to one or both of a client device or a clientapplication. Where a client is or refers to a client device, the clientcan comprise a computing system, which can include one or more computingdevices, such as a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, anotebook computer, a desktop computer, or another suitable computingdevice or combination of computing devices. Where a client instead is orrefers to a client application, the client can be an instance ofsoftware running on a customer device (e.g., a client device or anotherdevice). In some implementations, a client can be implemented as asingle physical unit or as a combination of physical units. In someimplementations, a single physical unit can include multiple clients.

The system 100 can include a number of customers and/or clients or canhave a configuration of customers or clients different from thatgenerally illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, and without limitation,the system 100 can include hundreds or thousands of customers, and atleast some of the customers can include or be associated with a numberof clients.

The system 100 includes a datacenter 106, which may include one or moreservers. The datacenter 106 can represent a geographic location, whichcan include a facility, where the one or more servers are located. Thesystem 100 can include a number of datacenters and servers or caninclude a configuration of datacenters and servers different from thatgenerally illustrated in FIG. 1. For example, and without limitation,the system 100 can include tens of datacenters, and at least some of thedatacenters can include hundreds or another suitable number of servers.In some implementations, the datacenter 106 can be associated orcommunicate with one or more datacenter networks or domains, which caninclude domains other than the customer domains for the customers 102Athrough 102B.

The datacenter 106 includes servers used for implementing softwareservices of a UCaaS platform. The datacenter 106 as generallyillustrated includes an application server 108, a database server 110,and telephony server 112. The servers 108 through 112 can each be acomputing system, which can include one or more computing devices, suchas a desktop computer, a server computer, or another computer capable ofoperating as a server, or a combination thereof. A suitable number ofeach of the servers 108 through 112 can be implemented at the datacenter106. The UCaaS platform uses a multi-tenant architecture in whichinstallations or instantiations of the servers 108 through 112 is sharedamongst the customers 102A through 102B.

In some implementations, one or more of the servers 108 through 112 canbe a non-hardware server implemented on a physical device, such as ahardware server. In some implementations, a combination of two or moreof the application server 108, the database server 110, and thetelephony server 112 can be implemented as a single hardware server oras a single non-hardware server implemented on a single hardware server.In some implementations, the datacenter 106 can include servers otherthan or in addition to the servers 108 through 112, for example, a mediaserver, a proxy server, or a web server.

The application server 108 runs web-based software services deliverableto a client, such as one of the clients 104A through 104D. As describedabove, the software services may be of a UCaaS platform. For example,the application server 108 can implement all or a portion of a UCaaSplatform, for example, including conferencing software, messagingsoftware, and/or other intra-party or inter-party communicationssoftware. The application server 108 may, for example, be or include aunitary Java Virtual Machine (JVM).

In some implementations, the application server 108 can include anapplication node, which can be a process executed on the applicationserver 108. For example, and without limitation, the application nodecan be executed in order to deliver software services to a client, suchas one of the clients 104A through 104D, as part of a softwareapplication. The application node can be implemented using processingthreads, virtual machine instantiations, or other computing features ofthe application server 108. In some such implementations, theapplication server 108 can include a suitable number of applicationnodes, depending upon a system load or other characteristics associatedwith the application server 108. For example, and without limitation,the application server 108 can include two or more nodes forming a nodecluster. In some such implementations, the application nodes implementedon a single application server 108 can run on different hardwareservers.

The database server 110 stores, manages, or otherwise provides data fordelivering software services of the application server 108 to a client,such as one of the clients 104A through 104D. In particular, thedatabase server 110 may implement one or more databases, tables, orother data stores suitable for use with a software applicationimplemented using the application server 108. The database server 110may include a data storage unit accessible by software executed on theapplication server 108. A database implemented by the database server110 may be a relational database management system (RDBMS), an objectdatabase, an XML database, a configuration management database (CMDB), amanagement information base (MIB), one or more flat files, othersuitable non-transient storage mechanisms, or a combination thereof. Thesystem 100 can include one or more database servers, in which eachdatabase server can include one, two, three, or another suitable numberof databases configured as or comprising a suitable database type orcombination thereof.

In some implementations, one or more databases, tables, other suitableinformation sources, or portions or combinations thereof may be stored,managed, or otherwise provided by one or more of the elements of thesystem 100 other than the database server 110, for example, the client104 or the application server 108.

The telephony server 112 enables network-based telephony and webcommunications from and to clients of a customer, such as the clients104A through 104B for the customer 102A or the clients 104C through 104Dfor the customer 102B. Some or all of the clients 104A through 104D maybe voice over internet protocol (VOIP)-enabled devices configured tosend and receive calls over a network, for example, a network 114. Inparticular, the telephony server 112 includes a session initiationprotocol (SIP) zone and a web zone. The SIP zone enables a client of acustomer, such as the customer 102A or 102B, to send and receive callsover the network 114 using SIP requests and responses. The web zoneintegrates telephony data with the application server 108 to enabletelephony-based traffic access to software services run by theapplication server 108. Given the combined functionality of the SIP zoneand the web zone, the telephony server 112 may be or include acloud-based private branch exchange (PBX) system.

The SIP zone receives telephony traffic from a client of a customer anddirects same to a destination device. The SIP zone may include one ormore call switches for routing the telephony traffic. For example, toroute a VOIP call from a first VOIP-enabled client of a customer to asecond VOIP-enabled client of the same customer, the telephony server112 may initiate a SIP transaction between a first client and the secondclient using a PBX for the customer. However, in another example, toroute a VOIP call from a VOIP-enabled client of a customer to a clientor non-client device (e.g., a desktop phones which is not configured forVOIP communication) which is not VOIP-enabled, the telephony server 112may initiate a SIP transaction via a VOIP gateway that transmits the SIPsignal to a public switched telephone network (PSTN) system for outboundcommunication to the non-VOIP-enabled client or non-client phone. Hence,the telephony server 112 may include a PSTN system and may in some casesaccess an external PSTN system.

The telephony server 112 includes one or more session border controllers(SBCs) for interfacing the SIP zone with one or more aspects external tothe telephony server 112. In particular, an SBC can act as anintermediary to transmit and receive SIP requests and responses betweenclients or non-client devices of a given customer with clients ornon-client devices external to that customer. When incoming telephonytraffic for delivery to a client of a customer, such as one of theclients 104A through 104D, originating from outside the telephony server112 is received, a SBC receives the traffic and forwards it to a callswitch for routing to the client.

In some implementations, the telephony server 112, via the SIP zone, mayenable one or more forms of peering to a carrier or customer premise.For example, Internet peering to a customer premise may be enabled toease the migration of the customer from a legacy provider to a serviceprovider operating the telephony server 112. In another example, privatepeering to a customer premise may be enabled to leverage a privateconnection terminating at one end at the telephony server 112 and at theother at a computing aspect of the customer environment. In yet anotherexample, carrier peering may be enabled to leverage a connection of apeered carrier to the telephony server 112.

In some such implementations, a SBC or telephony gateway within thecustomer environment may operate as an intermediary between the SBC ofthe telephony server 112 and a PSTN for a peered carrier. When anexternal SBC is first registered with the telephony server 112, a callfrom a client can be routed through the SBC to a load balancer of theSIP zone, which directs the traffic to a call switch of the telephonyserver 112. Thereafter, the SBC may be configured to communicatedirectly with the call switch.

The web zone receives telephony traffic from a client of a customer, viathe SIP zone, and directs same to the application server 108 via one ormore Domain Name System (DNS) resolutions. For example, a first DNSwithin the web zone may process a request received via the SIP zone andthen deliver the processed request to a web service which connects to asecond DNS at or otherwise associated with the application server 108.Once the second DNS resolves the request, it is delivered to thedestination service at the application server 108. The web zone may alsoinclude a database or other data store for authenticating access to asoftware application for telephony traffic processed within the SIPzone, for example, a softphone.

The clients 104A through 104D communicate with the servers 108 through112 of the datacenter 106 via the network 114. The network 114 can be orinclude, for example, the Internet, a local area network (LAN), a widearea network (WAN), a virtual private network (VPN), or another publicor private means of electronic computer communication capable oftransferring data between a client and one or more servers. In someimplementations, a client can connect to the network 114 via a communalconnection point, link, or path, or using a distinct connection point,link, or path. For example, a connection point, link, or path can bewired, wireless, use other communications technologies, or a combinationthereof.

The network 114, the datacenter 106, or another element, or combinationof elements, of the system 100 can include network hardware such asrouters, switches, other network devices, or combinations thereof. Forexample, the datacenter 106 can include a load balancer 116 for routingtraffic from the network 114 to various servers associated with thedatacenter 106. The load balancer 116 can route, or direct, computingcommunications traffic, such as signals or messages, to respectiveelements of the datacenter 106.

For example, the load balancer 116 can operate as a proxy, or reverseproxy, for a service, such as a service provided to one or more remoteclients, such as one or more of the clients 104A through 104D, by theapplication server 108, the telephony server 112, and/or another server.Routing functions of the load balancer 116 can be configured directly orvia a DNS. The load balancer 116 can coordinate requests from remoteclients and can simplify client access by masking the internalconfiguration of the datacenter 106 from the remote clients.

In some implementations, the load balancer 116 can operate as afirewall, allowing or preventing communications based on configurationsettings. Although the load balancer 116 is depicted in FIG. 1 as beingwithin the datacenter 106, in some implementations, the load balancer116 can instead be located outside of the datacenter 106, for example,when providing global routing for multiple datacenters. In someimplementations, load balancers can be included both within and outsideof the datacenter 106. In some implementations, the load balancer 116can be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example internal configuration of acomputing device 200 of an electronic computing and communicationssystem, for example, a computing device which implements one or more ofthe client 104, the application server 108, the database server 110, orthe telephony server 112 of the system 100 shown in FIG. 1.

The computing device 200 includes components or units, such as aprocessor 202, a memory 204, a bus 206, a power source 208, peripherals210, a user interface 212, a network interface 214, other suitablecomponents, or a combination thereof. One or more of the memory 204, thepower source 208, the peripherals 210, the user interface 212, or thenetwork interface 214 can communicate with the processor 202 via the bus206.

The processor 202 is a central processing unit, such as amicroprocessor, and can include single or multiple processors havingsingle or multiple processing cores. Alternatively, the processor 202can include another type of device, or multiple devices, now existing orhereafter developed, configured for manipulating or processinginformation. For example, the processor 202 can include multipleprocessors interconnected in one or more manners, including hardwired ornetworked, including wirelessly networked. For example, the operationsof the processor 202 can be distributed across multiple devices or unitsthat can be coupled directly or across a local area or other suitabletype of network. The processor 202 can include a cache, or cache memory,for local storage of operating data or instructions.

The memory 204 includes one or more memory components, which may each bevolatile memory or non-volatile memory. For example, the volatile memoryof the memory 204 can be random access memory (RAM) (e.g., a DRAMmodule, such as DDR SDRAM) or another form of volatile memory. Inanother example, the non-volatile memory of the memory 204 can be a diskdrive, a solid state drive, flash memory, phase-change memory, oranother form of non-volatile memory configured for persistent electronicinformation storage. The memory 204 may also include other types ofdevices, now existing or hereafter developed, configured for storingdata or instructions for processing by the processor 202. In someimplementations, the memory 204 can be distributed across multipledevices. For example, the memory 204 can include network-based memory ormemory in multiple clients or servers performing the operations of thosemultiple devices.

The memory 204 can include data for immediate access by the processor202. For example, the memory 204 can include executable instructions216, application data 218, and an operating system 220. The executableinstructions 216 can include one or more application programs, which canbe loaded or copied, in whole or in part, from non-volatile memory tovolatile memory to be executed by the processor 202. For example, theexecutable instructions 216 can include instructions for performing someor all of the techniques of this disclosure. The application data 218can include user data, database data (e.g., database catalogs ordictionaries), or the like. In some implementations, the applicationdata 218 can include functional programs, such as a web browser, a webserver, a database server, another program, or a combination thereof.The operating system 220 can be, for example, Microsoft Windows®, Mac OSX®, or Linux®, an operating system for a mobile device, such as asmartphone or tablet device; or an operating system for a non-mobiledevice, such as a mainframe computer.

The power source 208 includes a source for providing power to thecomputing device 200. For example, the power source 208 can be aninterface to an external power distribution system. In another example,the power source 208 can be a battery, such as where the computingdevice 200 is a mobile device or is otherwise configured to operateindependently of an external power distribution system. In someimplementations, the computing device 200 may include or otherwise usemultiple power sources. In some such implementations, the power source208 can be a backup battery.

The peripherals 210 includes one or more sensors, detectors, or otherdevices configured for monitoring the computing device 200 or theenvironment around the computing device 200. For example, theperipherals 210 can include a geolocation component, such as a globalpositioning system location unit. In another example, the peripheralscan include a temperature sensor for measuring temperatures ofcomponents of the computing device 200, such as the processor 202. Insome implementations, the computing device 200 can omit the peripherals210.

The user interface 212 includes one or more input interfaces and/oroutput interfaces. An input interface may, for example, be a positionalinput device, such as a mouse, touchpad, touchscreen, or the like; akeyboard; or another suitable human or machine interface device. Anoutput interface may, for example, be a display, such as a liquidcrystal display, a cathode-ray tube, a light emitting diode display, orother suitable display.

The network interface 214 provides a connection or link to a network(e.g., the network 114 shown in FIG. 1). The network interface 214 canbe a wired network interface or a wireless network interface. Thecomputing device 200 can communicate with other devices via the networkinterface 214 using one or more network protocols, such as usingEthernet, transmission control protocol (TCP), internet protocol (IP),power line communication, an IEEE 802.X protocol (e.g., Wi-Fi,Bluetooth, ZigBee, etc.), infrared, visible light, general packet radioservice (GPRS), global system for mobile communications (GSM),code-division multiple access (CDMA), Z-Wave, another protocol, or acombination thereof.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example of a software platform 300implemented by an electronic computing and communications system, forexample, the system 100 shown in FIG. 1. The software platform 300 is aUCaaS platform accessible by clients of a customer of a UCaaS platformprovider, for example, the clients 104A through 104B of the customer102A or the clients 104C through 104D of the customer 102B shown inFIG. 1. For example, the software platform 300 may be a multi-tenantplatform instantiated using one or more servers at one or moredatacenters including, for example, the application server 108, thedatabase server 110, and the telephony server 112 of the datacenter 106shown in FIG. 1.

The software platform 300 includes software services accessible usingone or more clients. For example, a customer 302, which may, forexample, be the customer 102A, the customer 102B, or another customer,as shown includes four clients—a desk phone 304, a computer 306, amobile device 308, and a shared device 310. The desk phone 304 is adesktop unit configured to at least send and receive calls and includesan input device for receiving a telephone number or extension to dial toand an output device for outputting audio and/or video for a call inprogress. The computer 306 is a desktop, laptop, or tablet computerincluding an input device for receiving some form of user input and anoutput device for outputting information in an audio and/or visualformat. The mobile device 308 is a smartphone, wearable device, or othermobile computing aspect including an input device for receiving someform of user input and an output device for outputting information in anaudio and/or visual format. The desk phone 304, the computer 306, andthe mobile device 308 may generally be considered personal devicesconfigured for use by a single user. The shared device 312 is a deskphone, a computer, a mobile device, or a different device which mayinstead be configured for use by multiple specified or unspecified users

Each of the clients 304 through 310 includes or runs on a computingdevice configured to access at least a portion of the software platform300. In some implementations, the customer 302 may include additionalclients not shown. For example, the customer 302 may include multipleclients of one or more client types (e.g., multiple desk phones,multiple computers, etc.) and/or one or more clients of a client typenot shown in FIG. 3 (e.g., wearable devices, televisions other than asshared devices, or the like). For example, the customer 302 may havetens or hundreds of desk phones, computers, mobile devices, and/orshared devices.

The software services of the software platform 300 generally relate tocommunications tools, but are in no way limited in scope. As shown, thesoftware services of the software platform 300 include telephonysoftware 312, virtual meeting software 314, messaging software 316, andother software 318. Some or all of the software 312 through 318 usescustomer configurations 320 specific to the customer 302. The customerconfigurations 320 may, for example, be data stored within a database orother data store at a database server, such as the database server 110shown in FIG. 1.

The telephony software 312 enables telephony traffic between ones of theclients 304 through 310 and other telephony-enabled devices, which maybe other ones of the clients 304 through 310, other VOIP-enabled clientsof the customer 302, non-VOIP-enabled devices of the customer 302,VOIP-enabled clients of another customer, non-VOIP-enabled devices ofanother customer, or other VOIP-enabled clients or non-VOIP-enableddevices. Calls sent or received using the telephony software 312 may,for example, be sent or received using the desk phone 304, a softphonerunning on the computer 306, a mobile application running on the mobiledevice 308, or using the shared device 310 where same includes telephonyfeatures.

The telephony software 312 further enables phones which do not include aclient application to connect to other software services of the softwareplatform 300. For example, the telephony software 312 may receive andprocess calls from phones not associated with the customer 302 to routethat telephony traffic to one or more of the virtual meeting software314, the messaging software 316, or the other software 318.

The virtual meeting software 314 enables audio, video, and/or otherforms of virtual meetings between multiple devices, such as tofacilitate a conference between the users of those devices. The virtualmeeting software 314 can include functionality for hosting, presentingscheduling, joining, or otherwise participating in a virtual meeting.The virtual meeting software 314 may further include functionality forrecording some or all of a virtual meeting and/or documenting atranscript for the virtual meeting.

The messaging software 316 enables instant messaging, unified messaging,and other types of messaging communications between multiple devices,such as to facilitate a chat or like virtual conversation between usersof those devices. The unified messaging functionality of the messagingsoftware 316 may, for example, refer to email messaging which includesvoicemail transcription service delivered in email format.

The other software 318 enables other functionality of the softwareplatform 300. Examples of the other software 318 include, but are notlimited to, device management software, resource provisioning anddeployment software, administrative software, third party integrationsoftware, and the like. In one particular example, the other software318 can include a routing engine for routing calls from phones receivedover a telephony system to software services of the software platform300.

The software 312 through 318 may be implemented using one or moreservers, for example, of a datacenter such as the datacenter 106 shownin FIG. 1. For example, one or more of the software 312 through 318 maybe implemented using an application server, a database server, and/or atelephony server, such as the servers 108 through 112 shown in FIG. 1.In another example, one or more of the software 312 through 318 may beimplemented using servers not shown in FIG. 1, for example, a meetingserver, a web server, or another server. In yet another example, one ormore of the software 312 through 318 may be implemented using one ormore of the servers 108 through 112 and one or more other servers. Thesoftware 312 through 318 may be implemented by different servers or bythe same server.

Features of the software services of the software platform 300 may beintegrated with one another to provide a unified experience for users.For example, the messaging software 316 may include a user interfaceelement configured to initiate a call with another user of the customer302. In another example, the telephony software 312 may includefunctionality for elevating a telephone call to a virtual meeting. Inyet another example, the virtual meeting software 314 may includefunctionality for sending and receiving instant messages betweenparticipants and/or other users of the customer 302. In yet anotherexample, the virtual meeting software 314 may include functionality forfile sharing between participants and/or other users of the customer302. In some implementations, some or all of the software 312 through318 may be combined into a single software application run on clients ofthe customer, such as one or more of the clients 304 through 310.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an example of servers used to integratevoice and video features of a software platform, which may, for example,be the software platform 300 shown in FIG. 3. As shown, a first server400 and a second server 402 communicate based on a call received from aphone 404. The first server 400 includes a telephony service 406. Thesecond server includes a software service 408. The call from the phone404 is processed by the telephony service 406 to route the call to thesoftware service 408.

The phone 404 may be a phone associated with a customer of the softwareplatform (e.g., the desk phone 304 or the mobile device 308 of thecustomer 302 shown in FIG. 3) or a phone which is not associated with acustomer of the software platform. For example, the phone 404 may or maynot have a client application associated with the software service 408or the software platform installed or otherwise running thereon. Routingthe call to the software service 408 enables an operator of the phone404 to connect to software of the software platform, which may, forexample, be one of the software 312 through 318 shown in FIG. 3.Although the first server 400 and the second server 402 are shown asseparate servers, in some implementations, a single server may includeboth the telephony service 406 and the software service 408.

The telephony service 406 includes one or more telephony aspects whichreceive and process a call from the phone 404. For example, thetelephony service 406 may be implemented using the telephony server 112shown in FIG. 1. The telephony service 406 may include one or more of aPBX, a SBC, and/or other telephony aspects. The telephony service 406accesses a data store 410 storing routing rules to determine how toroute the call from the phone 404. The data store 410 may be a databaseor other data store associated with the software platform. For example,the data store 410 may be implemented using the database server 110shown in FIG. 1.

In particular, the routing rules stored in the data store 410 aregenerated to identify a software service of the software platform (e.g.,the software service 408 or another software service) to which to routea call to a certain phone number or extension. For example, a firstrouting rule may indicate that a phone call to a first phone number orextension should be routed to a particular virtual meeting for a certainoperator at a customer of the software platform, so as to connect thecaller with that virtual meeting and to enable the caller to participatein the virtual meeting. In another example, a second routing rule mayindicate that a phone call to a second phone number or extension shouldbe routed to a software service associated with a universal identifierdefined for the customer, so as to enable the caller to use the softwareservice.

The routing rules may be generated at a device registered with thesoftware platform. For example, the device may be one of the clients 304through 310 shown in FIG. 3. Generating a routing rule may includecustomizing a routing pathway for a call from the telephony service 406to the software service 408. In some implementations, the routing rulemay be associated with an identifier for the software service 408. Forexample, the identifier may be a meeting identifier used to identify aspecific virtual meeting to which to connect a caller where the softwareservice 408 is or includes virtual meeting software. In another example,the identifier may be a universal identifier used to access orauthenticate the caller to access the software service.

Although the software service 408 is a multi-tenant software aspectdelivered to multiple users and customers of the software platform, thephone numbers and extensions identified within a routing rule and thusused to generate a routing rule a customized for a specific customer. Inthis way, callers who wish to reach a customer may connect to aparticular instance of the software service (e.g., a particular virtualmeeting) by dialing a phone number or extension which is specific tothat customer.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a telephony system 500 and ameeting system 502 of a software platform, which may, for example, bethe software platform 300 shown in FIG. 3. The telephony system 500routes a call received from a phone 504, which may, for example, be thephone 404 shown in FIG. 4, to a software service implemented using themeeting system 502. The telephony system 500 and the meeting system 502may be implemented on the same or different servers. In someimplementations, the telephony system 500 may be implemented on a firstserver, for example, the first server 400 shown in FIG. 4, and themeeting system 502 may be implemented on a second server, for example,the second server 402 shown in FIG. 4. For example, the telephony system500 may be or include the telephony service 406 shown in FIG. 4 and themeeting system 502 may be or include the software service 408 shown inFIG. 4.

The telephony system 506 includes a PBX 506 and a routing engine 508.The PBX 506 is a PBX of the software platform and is configured tohandle and process telephony traffic for one or more customers of thesoftware platform. The routing engine 508 is software which processescalls received at the telephony system 500 using routing rulescustomized for a customer of the software platform to determine softwareservices to which to route those calls. For example, the routing engine508 may access a data store that stores the routing rules to identify arouting rule for a call received from the phone 504. The data store may,for example, be the data store 410 shown in FIG. 4. A routing ruleidentified based on a call configures the PBX to route the call to themeeting system 502.

The meeting system 502 includes a switching/routing tool 510 and virtualmeeting software 512. The virtual meeting software 512, which may, forexample, be the virtual meeting software 314 shown in FIG. 3, implementsvirtual meetings as instances of the virtual meeting software 512. Avirtual meeting includes transmitting and receiving video, audio, and/orother data between clients and/or phones of virtual meetingparticipants. Each client and phone may connect to the virtual meetingsoftware 512 through the meeting system 502 using separate input streamsto enable operators thereof to participate in a virtual meeting togetherusing the virtual meeting software 512.

The virtual meeting software 512 includes a dedicated meeting view foreach input stream received and processed at the meeting system 502. Forexample, a meeting view may be represented within a graphical userinterface (GUI) of the virtual meeting software 512 by a dedicated boxfor a given participant. The content of the meeting view for a givenparticipant may be dependent upon the source of the input stream forthat participant. For example, where a participant accesses the virtualmeeting software 512 from a client, the meeting view for the participantmay include a video output stream transmitted from the meeting systemfor viewing by all participants based on a video input stream receivedfrom the client, although the participant may optionally disable videofeatures to suspend the video output stream from being presented in themeeting view. In another example, where a participant access the virtualmeeting software 512 from a phone, such as the phone 504, the meetingview for the participant may be limited to a static image or otherdefault background aspect since there is no video output stream producedfor that participant.

The switching/routing tool 510 directs bitstreams through applicablenetwork infrastructure and/or other hardware to deliver the bitstreamsto the virtual meeting software 512. The virtual meeting software 512delivers output bitstreams representative of the respective encodedstreams to each connected client and/or phone. In some implementations,the switching/routing tool 510 may be included in the virtual meetingsoftware 512.

To participate in a virtual meeting at the virtual meeting software 512,an operator of the phone 504 calls a phone number or extension which isassociated with a customer of the software platform. The routing engine508 receives the call and processes information signaled with the call,such as the phone number or extension dialed by the operator of thephone 504, to identify a routing rule defined for the customer. Forexample, the routing engine 508 may search a data store that stores therouting rules for a routing rule associated with the phone number orextension. Upon identifying a routing rule, the routing engine 508passes the call to the PBX 506 to deliver the call to the intendeddestination indicated by the routing rule, which in this case is thevirtual meeting software 512. For example, the PBX 506 may transmit thecall to the switching/routing tool 510 for delivery to the virtualmeeting software 512. In another example, the PBX 506 may transmit thecall directly to the virtual meeting software 512. A channel 514 is thenopened between the phone 504 and the virtual meeting software 512 toallow the operator of the phone 504 to participate in a virtual meetingassociated with the dialed phone number or extension at the virtualmeeting software 512.

In some implementations, telephony system 500 may include a VOIP gatewayto prepare a digital telephony signal for processing at the meetingsystem 502 based on the call received from the phone 504.

In some implementations, other software services may be accessible inconnection with a virtual meeting implemented using the meeting system502. For example, a virtual meeting may include or otherwise integratefunctionality for instant messaging, unified messaging, and other typesof messaging communications between participants of the virtual meeting,such as to facilitate a chat or like virtual conversation between usersof those participants. Those other software services may be implementedat the meeting system 502 and/or a different aspect of the softwareplatform.

In some implementations, a communication over another software service,such as an instant messaging, email, or chat service, may lead to arouting of a call from the phone 504 to the virtual meeting software512. For example, an instant message, email, or chat communicationbetween two or more participants may be escalated to a virtual meeting.A call-in number to use for the virtual meeting may be provided over thecommunication. Participants of the communication may then call into thevirtual meeting from their phones by dialing the call-in number, whichmay be a phone number or extension, that routes the calls through thetelephony system 500 to the meeting system 502 according to a routingrule associated with the call-in number to allow the participants of thecommunication to participate in a virtual meeting.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of example functionality of a routing engine600 used by a telephony system of a software platform. For example, therouting engine 600 may be the routing engine 508 shown in FIG. 5 and thesoftware platform may be the software platform 300 shown in FIG. 3. Therouting engine 600 includes software tools for routing calls from phonesreceived over a telephony system to software services of the softwareplatform. As shown, the routing engine 600 includes a routing rulegeneration tool 602, a call input processing tool 604, a routing ruleidentification tool 606, and a call output routing tool 608. Althoughthe tools 602 through 608 are shown as functionality of the routingengine 600 as a single piece of software, in some implementations, someor all of the tools 602 through 608 may exist outside of the routingengine 600.

The routing rule definition tool 602 is used to generate routing rulesfor routing calls to phone numbers or extensions to software services ofa software platform. An operator of a device registered with thesoftware platform for a customer of the software platform provides inputused to generate a routing rule. The input identifies the phone numberor extension that when called is routed to a particular destinationwithin the software platform. The input further identifies thatparticular destination as a software service of the software platform.For example, the destination to which to route a call may be an instanceof virtual meeting software, for example, the virtual meeting software512 shown in FIG. 5.

The call input processing tool 604 processes input to the routing engine600, which is a call received from a phone, for example, the phone 504shown in FIG. 5. The call input processing tool 604 in particularprocesses the call to identify information signaled with the call whichis usable to identify a routing rule. For example, the informationsignaled with the call may be one or more of a phone number or extensiondialed by the operator of the phone, a response to an IVR system, ameeting identifier for a virtual meeting, a universal identifier for asoftware service which may be a virtual meeting service or anothersoftware service, or the like.

The routing rule identification tool 606 searches a data store thatstores routing rules based on the information signaled with the call toidentify a routing rule to use to route the call to a particulardestination of the software service. For example, the routing ruleidentification tool 606 may search the data store based on a phonenumber or extension signaled by the call. A routing rule is identifiedwhere that routing rule identifies the phone number or extension.

The call output routing tool 608 outputs the call for routing throughthe software platform. In particular, the call output routing tool 608signals the destination for the call as determined based on theidentified routing rule. In some implementations, the output of the calloutput routing tool 608, and thus the output of the routing engine 600,may be transmitted to a PBX which will deliver the telephony traffic ofthe call to the destination software service. In some implementations,the output of the call output routing tool 608 may be transmitteddirectly to a system which provides the destination software service.

To further describe some implementations in greater detail, reference isnext made to examples of techniques which may be performed by or usingan integrated voice and video platform. FIG. 7 is a flowchart of anexample of a technique 700 for routing a call to a software service inan integrated voice and video platform, such as a UCaaS platform. Thetechnique 700 can be executed using computing devices, such as thesystems, hardware, and software described with respect to FIGS. 1-6. Thetechnique 700 can be performed, for example, by executing amachine-readable program or other computer-executable instructions, suchas routines, instructions, programs, or other code. The steps, oroperations, of the technique 700 or another technique, method, process,or algorithm described in connection with the implementations disclosedherein can be implemented directly in hardware, firmware, softwareexecuted by hardware, circuitry, or a combination thereof.

For simplicity of explanation, the technique 700 is depicted anddescribed herein as a series of steps or operations. However, the stepsor operations in accordance with this disclosure can occur in variousorders and/or concurrently. Additionally, other steps or operations notpresented and described herein may be used. Furthermore, not allillustrated steps or operations may be required to implement a techniquein accordance with the disclosed subject matter.

At 702, a call is received from a phone via a telephony systemassociated with a software platform. The phone may be a phonepre-registered with the software platform. For example, the phone may bethe desk phone 304 or the mobile device 308 of the customer 302 shown inFIG. 3. Alternatively, the phone may be a phone which is notpre-registered with the software platform. For example, the phone may bea phone operated by someone who is not part of the customer of thesoftware platform. The call is to a phone number or extension associatedwith the customer of the of the software platform.

At 704, a routing rule customized for the software platform isidentified based on information signaled with the call. The routing ruleis generated for customer of the software platform. In particular, thephone number or extension called by the phone as the call received viathe telephony system is customized for the customer of the softwareplatform. Thus, the routing rule is customized in that it is based on acustomized phone number or extension for the customer.

The information signaled with the call includes the phone number orextension dialed by the caller. For example, that phone number orextension may be signaled in a bitstream of the call or otherwisesignaled based on the receipt of the call to that phone number orextension. Alternatively, or additionally, the information signaled withthe call may include a response to an IVR system.

The routing rule is generated based on input received from a deviceregistered with the software platform for the customer. For example, theinput may specify a software service and a phone number or extension toroute to the software service. The routing rule may be stored in a datastore associated with the software platform. For example, a routingengine of the software platform may access the data store to identify acorresponding routing rule upon receiving or otherwise detecting a callto a phone number or extension. There may be multiple routing rulescustomized for a customer of the software platform. Each of the routingrules may be configured to route calls to different phone numbers orextensions to different software services of the software platform or todifferent instances thereof (e.g., different virtual meetings of virtualmeeting software).

At 706, a software service of the software platform is determined basedon the routing rule. The software service is associated with the routingrule. For example, the routing rule may indicate the software service orinstance thereof to which to route a call to a corresponding phonenumber or extension. The software service can thus be determined byidentifying the routing rule, such as within a data store.

The phone number or extension may in some cases be associated with auniversal identifier. For example, when generating the routing rule, therouting rule can be defined to route calls to a certain phone number orextension to a software service using a universal identifier for thesoftware service. The universal identifier is used to authenticate thecaller to access the software service. Determining the software servicemay thus in some cases include identifying a universal identifierassociated with the routing rule. In some implementations, determiningthe software service may further include authenticating the caller tothe software service using the universal identifier.

At 708, the phone is connected with a software system that provides thesoftware service. The software system may include hardware and/orsoftware used to implement the software service. For example, thesoftware system may refer to one or both of software or a server devicewhich runs the software. For example, where the software service is avirtual meeting, the software system may include one or both of virtualmeeting software of the software platform or a server device which runsthe virtual meeting software. Connecting the phone with the softwaresystem includes routing the call to the software system and opening achannel between the phone and the software system.

Where the caller from the phone is the first participant to connect withthe software service, connecting the phone with the software system caninclude launching the software service. For example, where the softwareservice is or includes virtual meeting software and the caller is thefirst to join the virtual meeting thereat, connecting the phone with thesoftware system can include launching an instance of the virtual meetingsoftware to start the virtual meeting.

The implementations of this disclosure can be described in terms offunctional block components and various processing operations. Suchfunctional block components can be realized by a number of hardware orsoftware components that perform the specified functions. For example,the disclosed implementations can employ various integrated circuitcomponents (e.g., memory elements, processing elements, logic elements,look-up tables, and the like), which can carry out a variety offunctions under the control of one or more microprocessors or othercontrol devices. Similarly, where the elements of the disclosedimplementations are implemented using software programming or softwareelements, the systems and techniques can be implemented with aprogramming or scripting language, such as C, C++, Java, JavaScript,assembler, or the like, with the various algorithms being implementedwith a combination of data structures, objects, processes, routines, orother programming elements.

Functional aspects can be implemented in algorithms that execute on oneor more processors. Furthermore, the implementations of the systems andtechniques disclosed herein could employ a number of conventionaltechniques for electronics configuration, signal processing or control,data processing, and the like. The words “mechanism” and “component” areused broadly and are not limited to mechanical or physicalimplementations, but can include software routines in conjunction withprocessors, etc. Likewise, the terms “system” or “tool” as used hereinand in the figures, but in any event based on their context, may beunderstood as corresponding to a functional unit implemented usingsoftware, hardware (e.g., an integrated circuit, such as an ASIC), or acombination of software and hardware. In certain contexts, such systemsor mechanisms may be understood to be a processor-implemented softwaresystem or processor-implemented software mechanism that is part of orcallable by an executable program, which may itself be wholly or partlycomposed of such linked systems or mechanisms.

Implementations or portions of implementations of the above disclosurecan take the form of a computer program product accessible from, forexample, a computer-usable or computer-readable medium. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium can be a device that can,for example, tangibly contain, store, communicate, or transport aprogram or data structure for use by or in connection with a processor.The medium can be, for example, an electronic, magnetic, optical,electromagnetic, or semiconductor device.

Other suitable mediums are also available. Such computer-usable orcomputer-readable media can be referred to as non-transitory memory ormedia, and can include volatile memory or non-volatile memory that canchange over time. A memory of an apparatus described herein, unlessotherwise specified, does not have to be physically contained by theapparatus, but is one that can be accessed remotely by the apparatus,and does not have to be contiguous with other memory that might bephysically contained by the apparatus.

While the disclosure has been described in connection with certainimplementations, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to belimited to the disclosed implementations but, on the contrary, isintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangementsincluded within the scope of the appended claims, which scope is to beaccorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and equivalent structures as is permitted under the law.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a data store that storesrouting rules customized for a software platform; a first server thatincludes a routing engine and a private branch exchange, wherein therouting engine routes a call from a phone to a software service of thesoftware platform via the private branch exchange according to a routingrule of the routing rules; and a second server that provides thesoftware service.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the software serviceincludes virtual meeting software, and wherein the routing engine routesthe call to a virtual meeting implemented by the virtual meetingsoftware.
 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the routing engine routesthe call to the virtual meeting based on a response to an interactivevoice response system.
 4. The system of claim 2, wherein the routingrule configures the private branch exchange to route calls to a phonenumber or extension to the virtual meeting.
 5. The system of claim 2,wherein, responsive to the routing engine routing the call to thevirtual meeting, the virtual meeting software prompts for a meetingidentifier.
 6. The system of claim 2, wherein the call is to a phonenumber or extension associated with a meeting identifier for the virtualmeeting.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein, to provide the softwareservice, the second server launches software associated with thesoftware service at the phone.
 8. The system of claim 1, wherein therouting rules are customized for a customer of the software platform. 9.The system of claim 1, wherein the phone is pre-registered with thesoftware platform.
 10. A method, comprising: receiving a call from aphone via a telephony system associated with a software platform;identifying a routing rule customized for the software platform based oninformation signaled with the call; determining a software service ofthe software platform based on the routing rule; and connecting thephone with a software system that provides the software service.
 11. Themethod of claim 10, wherein the routing rule is one of multiple routingrules customized for a customer of the software platform, and whereineach of the routing rules is configured to route calls to phone numbersor extensions to software services.
 12. The method of claim 11, furthercomprising: generating the routing rule based on input received from adevice registered with the software platform for the customer, whereinthe input specifies the software service and a phone number or extensionto route to the software service.
 13. The method of claim 10, whereinthe software service includes virtual meeting software, and whereinconnecting the phone with the software system that provides the softwareservice comprises: routing the call to a virtual meeting implemented bythe virtual meeting software.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinconnecting the phone with the software system that provides the softwareservice comprises: prompting for a meeting identifier associated withthe virtual meeting.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the call is toa phone number or extension associated with a meeting identifier for thevirtual meeting.
 16. A system, comprising: a telephony server thatroutes a call received from a phone registered with a software platformto a virtual meeting according to a routing rule customized for acustomer of the software platform; and a meeting server that runsvirtual meeting software to implement the virtual meeting.
 17. Thesystem of claim 16, wherein the routing rule is one of multiple routingrules customized for the customer, and wherein each of the routing rulesis configured to route calls to specified phone numbers to specifiedvirtual meetings run by the meeting server.
 18. The system of claim 16,wherein the routing rule is identified based on information signaledwith the call.
 19. The system of claim 18, wherein the informationsignaled with the call includes a response to an interactive voiceresponse system.
 20. The system of claim 18, wherein the informationsignaled with the call identifies a phone number or extension.